In Three Acts
by Gamma Orionis
Summary: Rabastan is waiting for Andromeda in her bedroom when he comes across a box containing letters. Three-shot for Louise Foxhall's Triptych Competition on the HPFC forum.


Author's Notes: Written for Louise Foxhall's Triptych Competition on the HPFC forum.

_I give you a first line and a quote that you must include along with characters and a scenario that must be used. You write a literary triptych; one one-shot/drabble with your strongest suit first e.g. dialogue and use the word quote. Then you follow this by another one-shot, a description one this time, using the proferred first line and then you write a third incorporating the two. The dialogue one-shot must be ALL dialogue and the description ALL description with no speech. The third part of your triptych should be a mixture of the two._

So, this is an interesting literary exercise… enjoy!

Banner: http: / /pics. livejournal. com/gamma_x_orionis/pic/0000eda4/s640x480

)O(

"Hi, Rab, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting…"

"Oh, don't be sorry, Andi. I'm glad that you gave me some time alone in your room, actually. As it happens, I found something very interesting…"

"Pardon?"

"Good fuck is he, Andi? Better than me?"

"What? Rab, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't even pretend with me, Andromeda! You must think I'm stupid – if you leave something like that around, how can you expect me not to find it?"

"I have no idea what you're on about! If you want to shout at me, then fine, go ahead, but you ought to at least tell me what you're angry at me for! As it is, you just sound like a raving idiot!"

"Well, I feel like a bloody idiot, as it happens! Finding out that my fiancée's been sleeping with some Mudblood for who bloody knows how long has that effect on me!"

"What? But Rab, I haven't…"

"Oh, no? You _haven't_ been sleeping with a Mudblood? So this box of letters you've got under your bed from 'Ted Tonks', and the picture of you two snogging – that's not real, then?"

"I… where did you find that? What the hell were you doing searching around my room? Good God, Rab, I leave you alone for five minutes – do you really trust me that little, that you'd search my room like that?"

"I hardly think it matters, since apparently I was right not to trust you, you little – you little whore!"

"_What_ did you just call me? You're calling _me_ a whore? How dare you!"

"It's the truth!"

"Don't you _ever_ call me that! I'm not a whore, and you know it! This isn't any of your business!"

"It is! We're engaged! It's my business if you're running around with someone else behind my back! And I care about you!"

"Well, obviously not, since you were snooping in my room! If you cared about me, you wouldn't have done that! And do you expect _me_ to trust _you_ after this? This is- this is an invasion of privacy!"

"You can't accuse me of invading your privacy! You can't accuse me of doing _anything_ untrustworthy when you've been unfaithful to me! And good God, Andi, why the _fuck_ are you keeping a box of pictures and letters? You have some nerve!"

"Oh, yes, I have _heaps_ of nerve for _daring_ to keep pictures or letters in _my room_. Did you even read the letters? For all you know, I might not have spoken to him in _years_!"

"I saw the dates on the letters! The last one is from just last week!"

"Did you read them, though?"

"I read enough! What, are you going to try to pretend that you're not actually being unfaithful? Don't expect me to believe that for a second – I saw some of those letters, and unless you write in some special code where 'sex' means 'a friendly conversation between acquaintances', you're going to have a _damn_ hard time talking your way out of this. And that picture is rather conclusive evidence, I should think!"

"You don't know anything, Rab. You have _no_ idea how things are between me and Ted!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you _in love with him_, Andi? Does that make everything all right? Oh, I'm ever so sorry if I offended your romantic sensibilities! I do hope I'm not getting in the way of true love – just because we've been promised to each other for years and you've always said you'll never love anyone as much as me…"

"That's not it, Rab."

"Oh, well, what is it then, pray tell, Andi? You know, you're right, I don't have any idea how things are between you two. Enlighten me – just how _are_ things? What's so special about him that you'd give up your fiancé for him? He must be amazing–"

"Just…"

"Yes?"

"Just forget it, Rab. Forget it. If you want to believe I'm unfaithful, then you go ahead and believe it. But maybe you'd want to read the letters properly before you decide to tell your parents what a whore I am."

"Andromeda, wait–"

"No. I'm going out. Don't expect me back soon."


End file.
